Just last evening, THC noticed to our delight that the Lost Coast Outpost has restructured their “Elsewhere” section, which features news, blog posts, and stories of interest from around the internet. With a local emphasis, of course.

THC set out to find one of our own posts, and there was our most recent post, in all its glory.

Where did we find ourselves? In the most colorful category possible! “Anonymous blowhards and Tinfoil Hatters!”

However, despite much deliberation, THC’s brain trust was unable to decide which label was most appropriate for us. The Mike’s Hard ran out before we could reach a conclusion.

So we put it to you, faithful THC readers and people who want to take the opportunity to call us names (it’s okay, you can be both), to tell us which one we are!

As you can see, we also added a couple extra categories. However, should you choose the “Other” option, do be kind enough to leave a comment with a more appropriate description of us. (Try to keep it semi-appropriate, please, because censuring comments is lame.)

We welcome your suggestion and certainly don’t need much in the way of incentive to try out a new concoction. As to Blarney Stoner surpassing Mike’s as the beverage of choice in Mom’s basement we are more than a bit dubious. We have a long history with Mike’s and consider relationship and tradition to be equally as important as taste. We’ll let you know how our tasting goes. Thanks for dropping by and for all your contributions towards making Humboldt a better place. Cheers!

Here is the secret recipe for the famous Blarney Stoner. Just don’t tell anyone.
1 1/2 shots West Cork Whiskey. (Cork County is where the Blarney Stone is located and was invented by my ancestors)
4 drops bitters
1 shot Dutch and Deweys limoncello di Pacifica. Made right here in Blue Lake.
Shaken not stirred with ice.
Poured in a 12 oz glass with tonic water.
Happy St Patty;s day!!

Ah my wee friend, alas you’ve forgotten a most important snipet! There are dozens and dozens of bitters out there. Which is specifically required for the most famous Blarney Stoner? Please, please, do not ruin it for us buy saying we should use whatever bitters we happen to have on hand.

Having a choice, I have chosen:
ANONYMOUS HATTER
So I am giving a tip of the hat to loco but since the terms are timeworn and overused, I have
recrafted them to make a more fitting term.
ANONYMOUS: I haven’t met you but if you only appear with your written words, you are still real to me. I’m sure there are those who have earned the valued Mike’s Hard who could testify, but why bother them since I need no proof.
Anonymous is rich in history. First coming in the use in English in the 1600s from the French, its orgin comes from the Green which means ‘without a name’. More repeatable sayings are attributed to Anonymous than to anyone on twitter (and more worth repeating in my opinion). How often have people wishing to do good but receive no praise ask to be credited for their largesse as ‘Anonymous’.
The power of the words do not need a known author to make them any or less true; they stand on their own.
But you have stated who you are, or how you wish to be known, so the term ‘Anonymous’ can only mean you choose not to aggrandize your own name.
HATTER: People usually think of a character of Lewis Carroll and the story has been assumed to be based on the usage of mercury to make hats with its use causing problems with the nervous system. Therefore, ‘mad as a Hatter’.
Snopes disagrees (you can look it up). But here is the pertinent information:
” Carroll’s “hatter” might well have been modeled on Theophilus Carter, an eccentric furniture dealer who characteristically sported a top hat. Carter was neither a hat maker nor had been exposed through his work to mercury fumes — if he had indeed been Carroll’s inspiration for the “Mad Hatter” of Alice, it would have been because he was a somewhat nutty real-life character much given to the wearing of highly noticeable hats.”
Reading that (as a fan of the Alice stories) I can better see that side of the Hatter since 1) he didn’t suffer from tremors or shaking in the illustrations or descriptions and 2) he exhibited characteristics of a eccentric and wore a noticeable hat…..and each character in the book had one outstanding feature which filled in (somewhat!) their story: The Cat with its grin, The Caterpillar with its hookah…and so on.
So rather than a negative character, a Hatter is someone who is willing to be a unique character, easily identified and not ashamed of being so.
And considering the large number of people who hide behind their own names while playing the role of politician, family man, person of importance (amazing how many of those there are in Humboldt it seems), self-declared authority or a personification of The Law in this town/county/wide place in the road/burg/territory, someone who says, fine, mock me but you know I see behind your masks and self-serving statements.
Which is what THC, the Anonymous Hatter does.
And if he tips his hat and raises an eyebrow at someone before his questions tear away cheap facades, they’re probably asking themselves: How much does he know that he hasn’t written about yet? Who reads him. Other people get dozens of comments, he doesn’t. Does that mean not many people read him or do they read him and not comment but still talk about the issues among themselves? And while some may imagine him perhaps occasionally smirking when a particular truth hits home, he saves his smiles for those who know they’re genuine and appreciate them. And everything else is kept under his hat.

I had noticed the split in Elsewhere and have always gone to the previous iteration because I really dislike the way they’ve done it. And why are they calling people names (or suggesting things) when it is the off-beat that actually interests most people. And as far as the Government category, how useless is that? All the “NEWS”….half the time Mad River Union has up a paywall, the links to tv and radio stations often provide the same news or the link no longer works…so of let’s say 12 sources, RHBB is always credible and literate AND caring…(gimme a minute or two, I’m thinking…) there’s the one that used to be there but isn’t…the whole thing is, if I like someone’s site, it’s in my favorites and I go there directly.
When I first saw the split personality Elsewhere I figured out they were drawing a line between US (people who either sort of support them or are glad to have another link to their site) and THEM (those who hold independent ideas and express them or in one way or another don’t toe the loco line. Fine, I’m not much of a joiner. And the front page? I preview the articles on FB, read the comments there and know what I need to know, with no unique page views for loco.

Lynn Mae has hypnotized me to change my vote to Anonymous Hatter. Very persuasive. I also don’t like the category system on Elsewhere, however if Loco did not have Elsewhere I’d never know Tuluwat Examiner was run by arrogant censoring sociopaths. Like it says above censoring is lame.

1. It should have been that Anonymous came from the Greek, not the Green.
2. Shocked: I don’t count the words. I consider what I want to say, do research if needed and then write. I don’t know who Lib Jon is but I shall have to read one of his columns sometime to see what you’re talking about.
I read a quote once (which I can’t reference now): “I won’t treat you like a fish and drop you a line; I’ll treat you like a king and send you a few pages”
I know I often write more than is needed but some blogs are more literate than others and I feel if someone wants to argue with any premise I put forward that they should have plenty of ammunition. I must also confess that I read a hundred words a minute for content and more when I just scan the copy. I’m not saying everyone should do this, just that some do (including friends). It plays hell with having enough books when travelling…(in foreign countries where used/inexpensive books in English are not easy to find.)

While your comments may be a bit longer that most we find them well thought out, pertinent, and particularly insightful. Aside from being provocative it’s not often that our admittedly limited attention span allows us to stay interested in any subject long enough for not one, but two Mike’s Hard Lemonade’s. Unlike our other even more verbose commentor, we most often actually understand just what the F you are talking about. Please do continue to visit and feel free to take as much bandwidth as you like. Cheers!

Hi Lynn, Here is a sample of my writing from comment zone of the THC’s first post (8/3/2015). Neither of us believe in the limits of 140 characters! Huzzah! If anyone trolls you over the length of your posts, just remind them they can scroll down.

(JC = John Chiv)
—-

Thanks you for the primer on entrepreneurialism JC! I don’t disagree with the nuts and bolts of it. Go out there, feel confident young business owner. What you should know young business owner, what this article doesn’t tell you, is that Denmark is not a command economy (or do these writers think it is?) In Denmark McDonalds workers do earn a living wage of $22/hour.

The question really is, do we want our workers and our environment to survive with the prosperous successful entrepreneurs? There are a hundred and one little thibs the right will tell you John and thc to get you to support what is actually an operating system that benefits wealth, not entrepreneurs. It’s why liberals keep pointing out income inequality. The gig is up, people are getting it. The last of the people who will get this will be the ones that Reagan and Rush have blinded with narratives. Narratives that are continually reinforced by right-wing websites like the oxymoronic “American Thinker”. (which I love btw – it is one of the 10 or so conservative websites I bookmark.)

That whole story is a lie John, there are not just two types of government operating systems. The world and it’s countries are incredibly complex and the cold war is over. One very entrepreneurial and capitalist society happens to be China. We can see this even here in Eureka. As a former cab driver I used to shuttle many of China’s winner’s children who were students at St. Bernards High School from place to place. It was an honor and a privilege to witness the reverse of what occurred in my lifetime – as American’s toured and populated the world after the success of our middle class after FDR’s policies and WWII.

One last little thib in that article John….

“The more President Obama calls for a second stimulus spending spree to create those jobs the first spending spree failed to create,”

It might not be pretty, we’d all like more opportunities, but it’s real and it corrected a major disaster from 2008 to 2009 that unregulated, unmanaged, unsustainable speculation will invariably create.

Liberals have to clean up the messes after conservative utopians (read: the wealthy) convince enough people to buy into their latest money-making scheme.

The “land grab” (or accurately, government fixing what the private sector destroyed) is another perfect example. What local conservatives want is to double down and create even more tourist friendly boutique shops anchored by a place to house the people from afar who will enjoy them. In short they want to expand the retail ecomony. This serves to raise land prices and will make very few even more wealthy in Eureka, but as Measure R proved, the wealthy could care less if those they employ make less than a living wage.

But as long as their children have a summer job, we are good. Right?

Thanks for caring John and attempting to enlighten this liberal with “An Economic Lesson Even a Liberal Can Grasp.”

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BTW, I missed the boat on this point…”What local conservatives want is to double down and create even more tourist friendly boutique shops anchored by a place to house the people from afar who will enjoy them.” It’s simpler than that. Conservatives (and some Democrats) want the highest return possible on their land – in both property values and income derived from the land.